Snooker: Mark Selby made a winning start to the new season with victory at the Northern Ireland Trophy in Belfast today. Last season's Masters and Welsh Open champion impressed with a comfortable 5-1 win against qualifier Andrew Higginson at the Waterfront Hall.
The world number four will now lock horns with England's Ian McCulloch, a two-time ranking event runner-up, in the last 16-stage tomorrow afternoon.
"I felt a little bit nervous at the start, which is only natural I suppose, but that's a great start to the season for me," reflected Selby. "Andrew's a great player so it was nice just to get over the line."
Selby pocketed breaks of 73, 50, 89 and 47 to progress and then revealed his aims for the new season.
"I want to win more tournaments this season," he added. "I'd also like to stay in the top four and get closer the number one spot. You have to set your goals even higher now that you're in the top four."
Ali Carter, last season's World Championship runner-up, also made a flying start to the season with a 5-1 win over qualifier Rory McLeod.
Carter was always ahead against McLeod and went through with breaks of 67, 54 and 57.
Next up for the world number seven is a last-16 showdown with either Ding Junhui, China's leading player, or Mark Davis, another qualifier.
Barry Hawkins, who dumped out crowd favourite Jimmy White in the first round, is also through following a 5-2 win over Hong Kong's Marco Fu.
Last season's Grand Prix winner Fu compiled breaks of 48 and 96, but Hawkins pocketed runs of 60, 40, 52 and 45 to set up a meeting with Ryan Day or Stuart Pettman.